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Crew girls gain early college acceptance

Last year marked a season of intense recruiting for Sarasota Crew’s varsity men’s squad, resulting in commitments to Columbia, Northeastern and Princeton.

This year, the girls take the honors.

Carli Goldberg of Osprey, a senior at Riverview High in Sarasota, has announced her commitment to row for the University of Virginia next year. Westanna Carleton of Venice, a senior at The Out of Door Academy, has signed with Boston University, and Christina Niffenegger of Sarasota, a senior at Pine View High School, will row for the University of California, San Diego.

The three girls have rowed as a team since 2006 and claimed top honors at the 2009 Southeastern Regional Championship women's youth sculling event. Four other female rowers also are considering invitations from colleges and universities.

“These three girls represent Sarasota Crew extremely well,” said Casey Galvanek, Sarasota Crew head coach. “They have put in the hard work, they have felt the pain of training, they have felt the pleasure in achieving their individual and team goals and they have kept focus with their academic workload. Keeping such a balance has offered each athlete a greater scope of collegiate opportunities, and these young ladies did not hesitate to take full advantage.”